


Mayan Mayflower

by AndSaraSays



Category: Mayans M.C. (TV), Sons of Anarchy
Genre: Action & Romance, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama & Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship/Love, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2019-08-27 07:33:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16698124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndSaraSays/pseuds/AndSaraSays
Summary: She was given a choice. Spend 2 years interning at a low income hospital or drown in school debt. Leaving her family and her debt behind Ruby packed her bags and flew off to Santo Padre ready for some new experiences. A fresh start away from familial guilt and drama in sunny California was in order.Angel Reyes was just promoted to Secretary of his Motorcycle Club. Adelita and Los Olvidados were safe, and neither he nor EZ were in trouble with the FEDS. Life was back to normal, or so he thought.During a botched drug run Angel and Ruby's lives collide in surprising fashion. Fate it seems, wants to throw a wrench in both their plans.This is an ongoing work of fiction.





	1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

“If they needed extra tests, I would’ve ordered extra tests! We are not a charity, we are a hospital and every extra cent you spent on the Dominguez kid could’ve been used to help the 100 other families out their waiting!” Dr. Lopez fumed.

“Yes sir, but…” I began tentatively.

“I’m sorry Dr. Farhan,” he interjected, “were you under the impression that this was a discussion?”.

“No sir” I responded, duly chastened. 

“Good.” Dr. Lopez stated as he bunched up the papers on his desk and neatly put them to the side. It was the tell tale sign that I was being dismissed. As I began to stand, he peered up at me through his glasses. “You may want to being applying to other fellowship programs, because if this happens again you’re fired”.

My shocked face must have registered, because as I nodded contritely and headed to the door he said, “I don’t believe in suspensions Dr. Farhan, this isn’t high school”.

“Yes Sir, I understand” I replied as I slowly entered the fluorescent hallway of Santo Padre General. As soon as the door shut I leaned against the adjacent cream colored wall and shut my eyes. In the 3 months since I had arrived in Santo Padre, my life was consistently hitting new lows. My roommate moved out a week into our lease, sticking me with rent and utilities for a 3 bedroom house that I lived in alone now. A month after that I backed into the garage divider and tore off my brand new car’s sideview mirror. Who knew those things cost $800 to replace! Not long after that a pipe in my kitchen burst and flooded the entire first floor. Thankfully the landlord paid for all the repairs but I was stuck having to replace everything that was ruined. Yes, he gave me a good stipend to replace my belongings, but I don’t really have a lot of extraneous time to waste while working 12-16 hour days at the hospital. Not to mention one of the repairmen opened up my bedroom door and let my cat escape into the neighborhood. I spent 2 weeks straight casing the blocks surrounding my house yelling “Archimedes!” to no avail. Not the best way to meet your neighbors, mind you. The fucker ended up sauntering back covered in fleas one morning as I was pulling into the driveway after working a double. I threw him in the car and took him straight to the vet, only to find out that he had contracted FIV during his foray into the great wide unknown. The vet thinks he must’ve gotten into a fight with another FIV positive cat. So now I have to worry about his health and monitor his disease on top of everything! Which brings me to today, where I just finished getting chewed out by my boss for trying to help a 10 year old kid with no insurance. 

Shaking my head I trudged myself down the hallway, past the nurses desk. Some of them looked on sympathetically while most just smirked and kept talking to each other. Nurses don’t really like residents, I’ve realized. They are either too busy telling me my treatment protocol is wrong, or going behind my back to the attending physicians and complaining. As I reached the elevator, I noticed a bunch of biker guys heading into one of the opening elevator doors. Instictively I took a step back, not really wanting to exchange fake pleasantaries, but my desire to leave the hospital and throw this day in the trash greatly outweighed that so I entered and pasted a professional smile on my face.

“Gentleman” I stated pleasantly as I stepped in and immediately pulled out my phone to avoid further conversation. Glancing downward I noticed they were all wearing variations of timbaland boots and scruffy jeans. I noticed their kuttes as soon as I walked up to the elevator, but I didn’t want to be rude and stare. The last thing I needed was a patient complaint against me. I would surely be fired. 

“Hey Doc, what department do you work in?” I looked up just in time to see a tall Hispanic man with a deep black beard and dimples staring at me with a smile on his face. I noticed that he took the time to read my name tag: Dr. Ruby Farhan. “I’d love to tell you where it hurts” he continued with a wink. His friends around him began to smirk and laugh.

Smiling, I put my phone back in my lab coat and said, “Sorry sir, but I’m pretty sure you’d want a physician with more experience, I’m still a resident, I might accidentally kill you.”

He must’ve heard the sadness in my voice because he looked at my face more deeply and said, “We all have rough days guapa, but a smart doctor like you will definitely get through it.” 

Before I could respond, the elevator dinged and we had reached the bottom floor. Giving them one last look and nod, I stepped out into the lobby and rounded the corner towards the employee parking exit. Trying to be as discreet as possible I craned my neck slightly to see where Romeo and his friends were headed. Seeing the saunter towards the main exit I exhaled slowly and kept walking. I’ve been hit on before, and it always makes me uncomfortable. Strangely this time around it made me feel a bit lighthearted and giddy. Brushing it off as medication for a bad day and nothing else I opened the exit doors and headed for home.

I was off for the next 2 days. I received the text from my program coordinator on my way home. I couldn’t tell if this was a punishment or a blessing in disguise. I decided it was both. Dr. Tay, the coordinator, liked me. We instantly connected in a meeting when my phone went off and the ringtone was “Fantastic Baby” by Korean band Big Bang. Ever since then we have had jam sessions with our favorite kpop groups and kdramas. In between all the back and forth text recommendations and conversations, we became pretty good friends. I figured I would use this time to unwind and regroup. Maybe have some fun for the first time since I had arrived to Sunny California. 

I can only compare California to the two other places I’ve lived: Wisconsin and Georgia. If I had to rank them I would put California in the middle ad Georgia on the top. I miss home. I miss my family. Almost every day my dad calls me telling me I can still come home. That Atlanta is home to many great hospitals and I could easily fit into a fellowship program there. While I appreciate his efforts, I knew that wasn’t an option. Although I love my dad, he’s my best friend; living with or near my mom and little brother wasn’t ideal. There was just too much history and drama for me to concentrate on my job and graduate from this program successfully. Besides, I fit in well in Santo Padre. Everyone assumes I’m Mexican because of my caramel colored skin and jet black hair. I usually don’t correct them especially since I can speak pretty decent Spanish. Leave it to Indian parents to enroll their kids in a school system that teaches Spanish from age 6. 

Pulling into my garage, I wave at Abuelita & Abuelo from next door. Abuelo was my incredibly nice landlord. When my parents were helping me move in, they told him how worried they were for my safety. Abuelita, after finding out that all my grandparents were dead decided that from that day forward, they were my new grandparents. This is why I didn’t fight to break my lease when my roommate impulsively moved in with her stoner boyfriend. It was also why Abuelo was so accommodating when the house flooded. They were sitting out on their porch drinking what I thought was tea as I walked over and took a seat.

“Que tal tu dia Carino” Abuelita asked as she poured my a small glass of what I now saw was espresso.

“Ohhh te amo Abuelita” I shuddered visibily as I downed the liquid in one gulp. “Fue bueno” I lied.

“Hmmm” she responded as she shrewdly observed my weather worn face. “Porque esta un poco brillando?”

 

Surprised that she knew my day wasn’t a total disaster, I told her what happened in the elevator.

“Club de bicicleta!” Abuelo looked at me shocked, “ No te comienzas nada con esta gente Ruby”.

“No te preocupes Abuelo” I replied soothingly. “Solo es una interracccion”

“Bueno” he responded as he went back to reading the latest edition of Reforma; a Mexico City Newspaper. I still don’t know how he gets it so fast.

The rest of the day went by uneventfully, I took a shower and heated up the tamales Abuelita handed me before I left them earlier. I try to tell her not to but I know she loves it. Her son lives about 6 hours away with his wife and 2 kids. They don’t visit often, so I get to reap the rewards of their unrequited love.

As I turned on my TV to begin scrolling through my DVR, I thought back to that moment in the elevator. He was cute definitely. Not the normal guy who hits on me. I’m a curvier girl, toned as much as my oft forgotten gym pass lets me. I’m also only 5’2’’, which adds to my curviness. I’m pretty confident though; it’s taken a while for me to be comfortable in my skin. But I love my body. I’m a little overweight yes, but as long as I’m healthy and stay active I really am not worried about it. Someone as tall and gorgeous as him, doesn’t usually hit on me. Don’t get me wrong, I get hit on by a fair share of attractive men; but I always though biker guys went for Barbie types. I happen to be a spot on Barbie, if she gained 30 pounds. Brushing it off as him showing off in front of his club I snuggle closer to Archimedes as he curls up in my lap. I don’t have much of a dating history. The last guy I dated was the first guy I dated and that ended in a broken engagement. I decided to text a few new friends I made to ask if they wanted to go out. Tomorrow was Friday and I knew they would be shocked since it would be the first weekend I would have free since I moved to Santo Padre. Not to mention, I never initiate hitting the clubs or going dancing. It would be quite a painful way to put myself out there, but I was ready to crawl out of my comfort zone.

Putting the empty Tupperware on the floor next to me I rebraid my hair and remember yet again to make a hair appointment. I love having such long hair but having a braid that runs down to my butt isn’t the most professional hairstyle a doctor can have. Keeping it up all day gives me such bad neck pain that I’ve had to sleep with a heating pad. Let’s just add that to the list of why these past three months have sucked. Shooting off a few texts I decide to turn in for the night and pray for smoother days to come.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby hits the club with her friends not knowing the night will veer off in a very dangerous direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first foray into writing so please be patient with me! :)

“This place is amazing!” I yell over the thump of salsa music. I was finally with my new friends in an overpacked, loud and incredibly popular salsa club.

“What?” My friend Luke yells back as he takes another shot of tequila. 

“I said, THIS PLACE IS AMAZING!” I scream it this time. Smiling, as comprehension dawns on his chiseled features. 

Luke is an interior decorator. I met him through mutual friends back in Atlanta. When he heard I was moving to California, he immediately made the short commute out to Santo Padre from San Diego. Not only did he include me in his fun circle of friends, but his open and welcoming nature made me feel right at home.

“I knew you’d love it!” He smiled, “Come on Jordan and the guys got us a table”. He took my hand and guided me further into the club. We weaved our way past couples and groups doing various versions of a dirty salsa.

I wore my best dress for the occasion, hoping to put forth some much-needed positive vibes into the universe. A deep red halter dress clung to my curves while flaring out at my waist. The fabric landed straight down to my feet, effectively flattering my curves. My boobs, which I usually preferred to cover as much as possible, were out in a semi decent yet classy fashion. At least that’s what Luke told me. I wore black strappy heels, but kept an emergency pair of roll out flats in my clutch. I am definitely not a high heel girl, so emergency precautions were made. 

Wearing such a daring dress usually resulted in me keeping my long hair loose, but the guys took one look at it and forced me to put it up into a long ponytail. 

I met the guys through Luke and his partner Danny. Danny was a tall, muscular hunk of a man. I was immediately attracted to him and to this day saddened that the feeling will never be mutual. Shamelessly, I still flirt with him and he always handles it good-naturedly. Luke told me their meet cute story one afternoon when we met for coffee. He said even though they were both born in Haiti, they ended up connecting and falling in love in Miami. 

Luke refers to his core group of friends as “the seven”. There is the aforementioned Jordan, a cute Puerto Rican from Alabama and his partner Miles, a stoic former red shirt Quarterback for Auburn. Grace, a veterinarian who surprisingly, was born and raised as a debutant in southern Georgia. She renounced her cotillion upbringing and moved to California posthaste. Mary who is an amazing chef and baker running her own bakery via social media. She and I hit it off right away despite her introvert nature. We both love all things Korea, from their food to their music to their dramas. She’s often mistaken for being Korean, but her parents are actually from Cambodia. Rounding out “the seven” I am honored to say is me, a half Indian and half Pakistani emergency room intern on probation. 

Oftentimes I look at our group and marvel at the diversity. Back home I always had an amalgamation of different friends. I thought it was because of the city I lived in. Atlanta has such great pockets of diversity, but oftentimes its buried underneath a consistent strain of confederate narrow-mindedness. Moving to California has made me realize that I seem to seek out friendships with wonderful human beings whose life experiences are vastly different than mine. I was excited to discover my new friends were even warmer and welcoming than the ones I had back home. 

Shaking myself out of my reverie, the night passed in differing patterns of dancing, drinking, laughing and bonding. All the drinking I did was of the virgin variety. I’ve always refused to drink alcohol, preferring to party and have fun while fully cognizant of my surroundings. My friends had always respected my decision and never made me feel bad about it. Given how I also drove myself to meet them at the club, I was even more aware of remaining sober.

“Ruby, your boss is a dick” Grace cackled indecently at her insult. She had only had one shot of tequila, but we all knew she was a lightweight. 

“He’s not her boss Gracie, he’s her attending physician” Mary tartly responded in between people watching. Mary was the most uncomfortable in this setting, but she bravely soldiered on because we all loved it here. 

“Whatever, he’s still a dick” Grace responded with a frown.

“Guys this is supposed to be a night we all forget our problems not remind each other of them” Jordan chastised everyone. “Come on, I love this song lets go babe”. He tried to drag Miles onto the dance floor but Miles refused. He wasn’t much of a dancer.

“I’ll dance with you J” Luke took Jordan’s hand and set off to make the rest of the club jealous.

“I swear, the 2 of them should teach salsa dancing, they’d make millions” I sigh and self-consciously tug on my dress.

“Stop it” Danny said as he grabbed my hand and made for the dance floor, “lets give them a run for their money”.

Laughing I eagerly went with my unrequited crush to make an utter fool of myself.

 

“Hey, who’s that chick dancing with the black dude” Coco Cruz asked his buddy as they walked towards the back office. He felt like he should remember but he couldn’t.

Gilly turns and looks towards the dance floor. Between the thrumming of the music and the crowd of drunken dancers it was hard to see whom Coco was pointing at. “She looks familiar, but all the chicks in here look the same man”. Laughing he hits Coco on the shoulder and continues to walk through the office doors.

Angel, however stops and stares. He knows exactly whom Coco was pointing at. Across the dance floor was a girl with curves to die for and no rhythm whatsoever. Her partner seemed equal parts frustrated and enamored. As Angel gazed on it seemed the guy was trying in vain to teach her the steps but she kept fumbling with her feet and laughing. “She needs a real man to take control” he says to no one in particular.

Taking an unlit cigarette out of his pocket, Angel casually places it in between his lips. Before he can pull out at lighter a skintight neon green dress appears in front of him, with a woman stuffed uncomfortably in it. Losing track of the familiar looking girl in the red dress, he frowns. 

Completely oblivious, the club bunny in front of him lights his cigarette with a wide seemingly seductive smile. Before she can say a word, Angel dismissively says, “Thanks” and continues scanning the sweaty crowd. 

“C’mon man they’re waiting” Coco glares at Angel, “This deal was your idea Angel”.  
Nodding, Angel speeds up his gait and shuts the door effectively behind him. Placing the mystery girl in the back of his mind.

 

“Oh no babe not the flats!” Jordan snatches my emergency shoes out from my hands, “It’ll ruin your whole look!”

“Fuck my look” I grumble. “You don’t know what it’s like wearing these torturous things all night”.

“Did you know men invented high heels” Grace said as she lifted up her slacks to show off her origami printed converse. 

I was always envious of Grace’s sense of style. The girl could rock a suit better than any man I knew. Anything she put on always looked tailor made for her body. She had curves like mine but they weren’t as pronounced. I’d like to say that’s why she could make slacks and a nice jacket work so well for her, but that was a lie. She scoured the internet for every piece of clothing in her closet. And every piece was a work of art.

“Men invent everything that is wrong with the world,” I say as I pick up my purse and try to hide my limp. 

We were finally leaving the club and I couldn’t be happier. Belly and Luke left earlier to grab some food from their favorite sushi place and the rest were on their way to join them. Grace and I decided to head back to my house and relax. 

Normally I would love to hang out with the Seven till the sun came up, but my wretched week caught up with me. Grace was the perfect antidote. Given a choice she would never leave her house. Preferring her computer and a hot cup of tea to any prolonged human interaction. We always laugh with her and tell her that’s probably why she became a vet. 

“Where did you park again?” She asks after we say our goodbyes to the rest of the group. 

“Down the block. I’m proud of you!” I say hugging her close. She tenses up and then laughs. “Because I actually went into a crowded area and didn’t freak out?”

“Yup!” I laugh as we make it to my car. The parking lot is pitch black and looks deserted but I pay it no mind. Unlocking the doors we both hop inside.  
“I half expected you to make a run for it as soon as we got there”. I say settling in.

“Alcohol helps” she pauses then says, “a lot!”

I am just about to start my engine, when shots begin firing seemingly right next to us. Pop! Pop! Pop!

“Wait” I say looking at Grace, “were those gunshots?”

“Holy Shit! I think so, start the fucking car! Lets get outta here!” Grace look at me with fearful bright eyes.

I tried unfreezing my body, but couldn’t move. It felt like I was frozen in a dream. I’d only ever heard gunshots when I went to the firing range years ago, but that happy memory was hazy during my current moment of panic. They sound more like firecrackers than anything else. Up until that point I didn’t know gunfire had a smell. But even safely encased in my black SUV, the smell began permeating our environment. Our eyes watered and we both realized it was too late to flee.

The meatheads were apparently part of a gang, judging by their matching purple apparel. We watched as the men jumped into their cars and pulled away. Their tires screeching across the pavement. Thinking we were safe, I sprang into action and started my car. Quickly turning the steering wheel towards the exit, I slammed on my breaks when a muscular man clad in a purple shirt and bandanna hopped out in front of my car. Holding a gun pointed right at me he slowly walked towards the driver’s side window. 

Whispering to Grace, “Don’t move”. I slid my hand down the middle console of my car and groped for my pepper spray. Hastening a glance at my petrified friend, and realizing her hand was now on the door handle I spoke more urgently. “Grace don’t fucking move!”

The next few seconds seem to occur in slow motion. Grace opens the door causing the interior lights to flash blaringly in the darkness. Startled the gunman quickly fires his gun, breaking my window but missing my head. Without sparing a glance at my friend, I quickly unload what seems to be a gallon of pepper spray directly into the idiots eyes. I am surprised at how quickly my fear turns into anger. 

“Gracie are you ok?” I yell without looking backward. Hoping and praying my new friend didn’t get hurt.

“Yyyes” She thankfully replies sounding shaken.

The thug staggers backward and I tear outta my car and pounce as he falls hard onto the pavement. Part adrenaline and part righteous anger I start beating him uncontrollably with my fists. He writhes on the ground both hands covering his splotchy reddened face. Having seen pepper spray victims in the ER, I know his eyes must be burning out of his sockets. Smiling rather viciously, I scream at the fucker that he’s lucky he’s not dead. 

I would’ve continued to beat him had Grace’s scream not pierced through the air. Stupidly I look around and realize my mistake. We interrupted some sort of gang fight. Of course this guy wouldn’t have been the only straggler. The purple thugs were fighting another crew. 

In the midst of these thoughts two arms wrap around my waist and yank me backwards. I immediately begin to struggle and try helplessly to turn my head and look in the direction of Grace’s voice. Never forgiving myself if something happens to her.

“Basta Gatita” a deep voice says behind me. 

“I’m not a cat you mother fucker, let me go!” I yell as I struggle even more.

“Shut her up Riz” I hear another unknown voice say. “The other one almost called the cops, put this fucker in the truck and lets go!”

Immediately subdued I say, “please my friend is she ok? We didn’t see anything, just let us go”.

“Too late for that gatita,” the voice behind me says, “If you understand Spanish you probably heard more than you needed to”.

Fuck! They start hauling me back towards my car and toss me inside the backseat. Grace is sitting next to me, sniffling quietly and miraculously unhurt. Grateful, we both latch onto each other tightly. Realizing in my haste to get a cheap parking spot I put both my friend and myself in danger I grasp her hand tightly in mine.

 

“Are you ok?” she asks me quietly. 

No one else has entered the car yet. I gaze surreptitiously out the window and see 5 or 6 motorcycles parked nearby. A couple of heavily tattooed men wearing black leather kuttes toss the purple clad thug unceremoniously into the back of a green pick up truck. The other men confer with each other quickly and 2 start walking back towards us. 

“Yes”, I whisper back, “are you?”

“Yea, I’m so sorry Ruby, I panicked. The only thing I wanted to do was run far far away. I didn’t even think about the consequences” she starts to cry softly.

“Shhh” I console her, “It’s not your fault Gracie, it’s human nature. Besides we are both ok, and I can talk myself out of anything. I can get us out of this”. The last part was an obvious lie, but we both settle into it.

In all the uproar, both of our cellphones were taken, but I knew my car had a safety sensing mechanism. I used it once when I had a flat tire. The car was still running, it would take just a few touches on the screen to activate that feature. Quickly gazing back at the two men, I weighed the risk.

The parking lot was dark and deserted. But as the motorcycles loudly started up and sped away their headlights illuminated our 2 captors vividly. Gasping I read their kuttes. 

“Mayans!” I exclaim as I sit back in my seat. 

“What?” Grace looks as me confused.

“I know those guys! I met them in the elevator at the hospital. They kinda flirted with me. I think I really can get us out of this” I exclaim as softly as I can.

“Don’t do anything stupid Ruby” Grace warns. “Let’s just be as amenable to them as possible and maybe they will let us go.” But I open the door and jump outta the car.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soon Sorry for the delay, but I promise to update more regularly. I switched to third person POV and really worked on my writing. Hope you like it! Feliz Año Nuevo!

CHAPTER THREE

 

 

Trauma manifests inside people differently. Sometimes it's gelatinous and sticky; years later its residue is still felt. Other times it’s a piercing mosaic shining sharply through, but only when the light hits it at the right angle. It can also act as a sleeping giant, never showing its monstrous face but always letting its presence be known.

Ruby knew her trauma very well. She wore it as an invisible backpack, carrying around her pain to the ignorance of others. Years of therapy, meditation, medication and a combination of all three failed to get rid of her persistent companion. So, she moved forward. “Onward & Upward!” Her father used to say. He still says it to her sometimes, when he hears the silent pain in her voice. But Ruby was proud of her strength, of her ability to forget about her trauma, as it hung loosely against her back.

Tonight, however, she wore her trauma as a shield. The good thing about carrying trauma like Ruby did, is that it gave her a healthy dose of courage with a liberal amount of stupid. She fought battles in order to yield her trauma as a sword. On nights like tonight, her trauma came in handy.

Adrenaline pumping and her anger bubbling, Ruby slammed the car door shut behind her.

“Get back inside!” The gruff sounding taller man yelled.

“Why? You gonna fucking shoot me if I don’t?” Ruby shot back, glaring hard at the bearded man.

“Listen puta...” the smaller man spit out. He was a shifty looking guy with an air of menace about him. Ruby was mad but she wasn’t stupid. Instead of continuing her path of anger, she decided to use her trusty friend logic.

“Those gunshots happened 5 minutes ago. In a neighborhood like this, I’d say the cops are about 2 minutes away.” She holds up her finger to shush the two men preemptively. They both seem frozen, one in anger but the other, taller one kept a slight smirk on his scruffy face.

“You can kill me yes, but my guess is that curious onlookers will grab your tag and pin you to the murder, and even though I’m not a white girl, I am a doctor so that will probably garner enough press coverage to send both of you to prison or an electric chair." She shook her head slightly, "I’m still iffy on California laws.”

“Coco” The taller man rubs his beard reflexively, “she has a point.” He looks at Ruby with weary eyes but keeps his smile. “We aren’t going to hurt you Doc, but you need to come with us, by order of our President”. He continues to smile but Ruby sees the challenge in his eyes, before she can respond his friend Coco takes over.

“You’re the fucking doctor from SPG, we fucking hit the jackpot Angel”

“What are you talking about?” Ruby looks back and forth quickly between Angel and Coco. “Are you kidnapping me because you need a doctor?”

“No, Doc we were kidnapping you because you saw too much and we needed to make sure you and your friend would keep your mouths shut, but now we are kidnapping you to help our brother who was shot tonight. Now get in the car.”

Angel opens the back door of Ruby’s car and unceremoniously puts her inside. Even through the fabric off her dress, she could feel the roughness of his hands, The skin left weather worn and weary from years of working with his hands. Reflexively, Ruby runs her own softer hands familiarly down there thighs as Angel gets into the drivers seat. Coco sits up front and they silently drive off. The interior of the car is dark and silent save for the display screen lights of the car and the sniffles coming from Grace.

The two friends clasp hands tightly, one terrified and the other pensive. As Angel smoothly merges into unsuspecting traffic, sirens pass them in roaring fashion; cops, fire engines and ambulances all will converge shortly in an empty parking lot with only remnants of a disaster. Too late, Ruby realizes had she only kept the men talking, she and Grace may have been saved. Just having to spend a few hours being questioned and then released with an epic water cooler story for their respective workplaces. Audibly sighing Ruby glances at her trembling friend and admits to herself, maybe she wanted to risk seeing this play out. Anything to shatter the malaise that had begun growing in her heart.

As her car pulls through two tall wire gates, Ruby becomes lost in more comforting nonsensical thoughts. She isn’t used to anyone else driving her car. Remembering how she painstakingly chose the jet black Honda SUV as her new forever car. It was meant for her new life in California, she even named it toothless after she backed into her garage too tightly and tore off the side view mirror. 700 bucks and 1 week later her car was brand new but the nickname stuck. She had spent so much time in her car. 25,000 miles in 1 year to be exact. It had become the silent family member she had always wanted, steadfast, loyal and never judging when and where they went together. It seemed her loyal steed quite easily gave up the reins for the tattooed motorcycle gang member currently in charge.

He remained silent and cautious while his friend countered with hypervigilance and chain smoking. Ruby thought to tell Coco not to smoke in her car, but Grace being the self preservationist that she is shot her daggers with the words "no" all over them.

As Angel parked the car, he turned and spoke to both friends. “Doc you come with us. She can stay in the car. If all goes well, you both can be on your way home before the sun comes up”.

“Prez is waiting Angel” Coco flicks his cigarette, gives the girls a long look and gets out of the car. Angel joins him in front of the car as more members come over to talk to the duo.

“Ruby I don’t like the look of this” Grace whispers fervently.

“Gracie we don’t have a choice, they have an injured member, someone was shot. I will go in and have a look, patch him up and we will be on our way home. We will still have time to get in our pajamas and watch Trailer Park Boys till we forget this night even existed”

They both smile at the lie and Grace nods. “Do you need my help? I mean I know I work with dogs but I can wrap a wound like the best of them”

“I know you can babe but let's not tell them all of our secrets. By the way, remember the hot guys from the hospital elevator?”

Grace takes a minute and then nods.

“Well, that’s them” she says ruefully, pointing at the group of men now staring daggers into the car.

“I better get going, hopefully their friend is dead and we can just go home. Now, do you have a sweater or something because I am not walking into the lions dead looking like a literal piece of meat.”

Not smiling at the joke, Grace rummages around and finds a Georgia State Sweatshirt. Zipping it up Ruby gives her trembling friend a quick hug and slowly exits the car.

“My med bag is in the trunk” she says to no one in particular. A tall Hispanic man with a military type crew cut and the word ‘Prospect’ written on his kutte got her bag and carried it ahead.

“Tranq’s in the clubhouse, bring her there” an unknown club member says to the group. Quickly Ruby is ushered forward. Unable to really take in her surroundings the one thing that stands out is how dilapidated and dusty everything looks. A turquoise colored house greeted them along with a beat up green truck and a white RV with orange stripes. Loads of mechanic equipment and refurbished motorcycles sat around untouched for the time being. The gravel driveway gave way to a sandy dirt patch of land with yet another building sitting on top of it. This one looked more put together and cared for. Women clad in daisy dukes and vanishing versions of skin tight tank tops bustled in and out carrying drinks, food and blood red towels.

At the sight of the towels, Ruby’s pace quickened, she began to outpace her captors as her medical training automatically kicked in.

“Is that your friends blood?” she yelled at no one in particular. “The amount of blood is way too much for him to be stable, he needs to go to a hospital before its too late.”

“It’s too late Doc, that bitch is dead, it's Tranq that needs you” Angel responds easily. He takes a semi frantic Ruby by her shoulders and slows her down. Grabbing her by the elbow he steers her into a building that looks just like a bar. The air is rife with cigarettes, weed and the sweet tinge of alcohol. Wooden floors and chairs are flaked with small wooden tables laden with beer and hard liquor. In the center of the room lies a well worn sofa with a bleeding man grimacing on top. Angel deposits her in front of Tranq and Ruby loses focus on everything else but the patient in front of her.

“You need anything, ask EZ” the gruff voice of Angel says in Ruby’s ear as she absentmindedly nods.

Tranq is a buff giant of a man. His kutte and shirt have already been removed and a dish towel has been stuffed into his shoulder. Bullet wounds are complicated enough, but a bullet in the shoulder would take every ounce of emergencey training Ruby could muster. Unable to run any of her routine diagnostics, Ruby surmised her patient was about 40 years old and in seemingly good health. At least she hoped so. A quick backyard surgery shouldn't place his life in even greater jeopardy.

In the back of her mind she could just see Dr. Lopez’s disapproving face.

"If he only knew what I was doing on my day off." Shaking off an oncoming smile, Ruby turns to look at her kind faced helper.

“EZ?” she says.

He nods.

“I need my pen light out of my med bag, also hand me my surgical scrub and gloves please”.

Not knowing his competency Ruby was pleasantly surprised at EZ’s aptitude. Scrubbing her hands efficiently and donning gloves, she tells EZ to open her surgical pack and remove the towel.

Quickly she takes the clean gauze and stuffs it into the puckering and angry wound. Breathing a sigh of relief she says to her newly minted nurse that no artery was hit.

“How do you know”

“Because there wasn’t a geyser of blood when you removed the towel”

“Will you two hurry the fuck up” Tranq groans, “I don’t like being the buzzing fucker in a real life game of Operation”.

Laughter quietly erupts from behind them, but Ruby is focused. She gently removes the gauze and shines a light into the wound.

“Shit” She says quietly, It wasn’t a clean shot. She could see the bullet lodged into Tranq’s muscle. The angle of his body and the fact that she was kneeling down on a hardwood floor in her flimsy dress would not make this procedure easy. Torn muscles were painful, ugly injuries. The only real cure is giant amounts of rest and restrictive movement. Ruby was pretty sure that Tranq would be unable to follow both of those orders.

“Hand me those hemostats and the forceps, but you need to put on gloves first EZ” Ruby’s voice automatically becomes more authoritative and controlled. She is entering her comfort zone. Yes, her boss just chewed her out, but not because of her skills. She was a damn fine physician and was known for being cool under pressure. Tranq was the luckiest SOB ever.

“This is going to hurt a little bit Tranq, but I need you to hold still. I have to remove the bullet, it’s pretty superficial but if you move or jostle around it may fall deeper into the muscle which will be way more painful”.

“Just do it fast”

“I promise I will go as fast as I can” Ruby assured him. Her histology professor always told her that patients feel more at ease when you walk them through even the simplest procedures.

“Think of it like a salon and you’re the hairstylist” she used to say. “People find comfort in your words and trust you with their vulnerability, sometimes its hair other times its their health”.

"EZ, there is a syringe of lidocaine and a vial of epinephrine, can you hand me those please" She needed to administer some sort of localized anesthetic to the site. After all, this was going to hurt.

"Ok Tranq, I'm going to numb the area a bit, you may feel a bit of pressure" She took the lidocaine from EZ and injected it.

"The only thing I can fucking feel is my shoulder fucking burning the fuck off my body. Now hurry the fuck up!"

"Hey, Cabron" Angel appeared at her side looking Tranq directly in the eyes. "Stop being a fucking pussy and let the pretty doctor do her job asshole"

Equal parts offended and flattered, Ruby ignored them both. "Is there a bottle of bupivacaine in there?" She looked at EZ with hope in her eyes.

"This?" He holds out the bottle.

"Yes, Thank you" Administering a longer lasting anesthetic would be best in this procedure. Her patient was in fact, a pussy.

Gingerly, Ruby opened the wound a bit more with the forceps. She held her penlight in her mouth. It’s light shining directly onto her prey. The silver casing gleamed in the cavernous muscle. Sweating a bit, she stuck her hemostats into the enlarged wound ignoring Tranq’s cries. EZ had levered himself over Tranq’s torso, pinning him to the couch. Another unknown pair of hands, with rings covering almost every finger, came towards the front of the couch and pinned Tranq’s good shoulder down as well.

Grasping the bullet, she slowly guided her hemostats back out of the wound and audibly sighed once it was free. Dropping the bullet on some gauze Ruby gazed deeper into the wound for any remaining fragments or damage.

“Make sure that bullet is whole” She told EZ, as she assessed the damage. Satisfied that no fragments remained, she briskly cleaned the wound with antiseptic and restuffed the now angrier wound with more gauze.

Rolling her shoulders, she picked up her surgical needle and threaded suture through it.

“You still with me Tranq?” She looked up at her now silent patient.

“Dios Mio” he gasped.

“The whole bullet is here, it didn’t break apart” Ez looked at her grimly.

“Good, now Tranq the worst is over. I am just gonna put a few stitches in and you will be as good as new. Plus you get to take some pretty stellar pain meds”

His face was slightly ashen, but he seemed no worse for the wear. Angel had been the owner of the ringed hands, Ruby noticed. She stared up into his solemn eyes and saw him nod almost imperceptibly.

She sewed up the wound as deftly as she could, it looked clean enough so she didn’t leave room for drainage. Tacking one last stich and cutting off the excess suture she sat back on her heels to admire her work. All in all the procedure was textbook. Now she just had to hope Angel would stay true to his word and let them go.

“EZ, I’m going to write a prescription for some antibiotics and pain meds. Can you go and pick these up right away?”

“Yea I can do that” EZ tore off his gloves and wished Tranq well, then he looked down at Ruby and said a simple yet sincere “Thank You”, and left.

Fishing in her bag, Ruby began to wrap his shoulder while giving him all the necessary wound care instructions. Knowing he was probably in too much pain to care, she looked up at Angel.

“You’ll make sure he follows my instructions”

“Yea Doc, you sure he’ll be alright”

“Yea, as long as he changes the bandages regularly and doesn’t let it get infected he will be brand new”. Packing up her supplies, Ruby prepared to return to her car and her regularly scheduled life.

“Angel, bring the good doctor in”

Startled by the new voice, Ruby looked up and saw a leaner, slightly shorter version of Angel; with about 15 years on him. He wore a ‘Presidente” patch on his kutte and frown on his neatly bearded face. A solemn tone hung in the air as the hustle and bustle of the bar/makeshift operating room quieted down. Even Tranq fell silent, his eyes warily surveying Ruby’s face with obvious concern.

It was at this moment that Ruby realized the full severity of the situation. The fact that she and Grace were witnesses to a crime, a potential murder if the murmurs around the club were correct. That purple clad opposing gang member they loaded into the back of their van was dead. Grace and Ruby were officially loose ends. She knew their lives were at stake, but she also knew she had a tiny bit of leverage. Hoping she wasn’t a complete idiot, she dusted off her dress, adjusted her hoodie and marched towards her unknown fate.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm making a concerted effort to update more regularly. I hesitated quite a bit with publishing this chapter, I wasn't totally satisfied with it. I enjoy the slow burn, but I don't enjoy complacency. I'm hoping once I get over this hurdle, it will flow smoother. Anyways, hope you guys like it!

 

 

 

“Not exactly the night you were expecting huh chica?” Bishop drawled as he lazily sat at the head of the table.

“You could say that” Ruby hedged.

She was oozing unease and Bishop knew it. She couldn’t stop her body from shifting positions every few seconds. Her hands, and feet seemed poised to run a marathon. Sourly, she realized her tall bearded shaman had been more of a source of comfort than fear.

Angel had long left, throwing a half smile in her direction and discreetly shutting the door. His presence throughout the makeshift surgery procedure was oddly soothing. She may not have known he was there all along but her hands seemed to sense it as she calmly went through her surgical motions.

It was only natural, she assumed. Coco and Angel were her entry points into this hidden world of motorcycles and gang activity. Anyone would cling to their makeshift guides, dangerous or not. Since Coco wanted nothing to do with her, taking his chainsmoking to the corner of the bar, Angel was left to fulfill the role alone.

“I appreciate what you did for our brother, Tranq is an invaluable member of our family.” He adjusted his black combat boot laden feet. “It seems Los Dios have delivered a very fine gift indeed”.

Ruby held her tongue. If only Bishop knew how hard this was for her. If only her collegues could see her now. The token troublemaker of her Resident class, who could never seem to stop arguing in the face of authority was shutting up. Well, none of the physicians she had worked under had ever killed anyone, on purpose at least.

Not that she knew Bishop had, but if it sounds like a duck and looks like one then it’s a fucking duck. She just had to figure out what to say to get her and Gracie out of this mess. She shook her head slightly out of frustration.

“Are you sure about that Doctor?”

Ruby stepped away from her thoughts and involuntarily shuddered. Either the room held a chill in the air or her body was going into shock.

In her most professional tone she smiled politely at her captor and said, “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

Laughing, Bishop looked at her more deeply. “You really are a strange one Doc”, clasping his hands under his chin, he leaned further back in his chair. Some would say he was relaxed, nonchalant even, but Ruby knew better. It was a classic power move, she’d seen it done in countless meetings and interviews she had been a part of. Bishop wasn’t acting laid back, he was coiling himself up like a serpent in preparation to strike.

“You fulfilled a need we hadn’t seen necessary before, every time a brother got hurt we just took ‘em over the border, but Tranq didn’t have that luxury. We could use someone with your skills”.

“uh…my skills?” Ruby dumbly repeated. Surely he wasn’t saying what she thought he was.

“Madre Mia the pretty ones really are dumb, how in the hell did you ever graduate medical sch…”

With fire in her eyes, Ruby interrupted him, “I’m not dumb, I’m traumatized, there’s a difference Presidente” .

Taken slightly aback but covering it with a smirk Bishop responded good-naturedly, “seems I struck a nerve there, Coco said you were mouthy but I didn’t believe it until now.”

“I understand what your saying and I’d love to help really I would, but I’m under immense pressure from my own boss, if I step out of line one more time I’m out of the program. If that happens, then no other hospital will agree to take me on not to mention I’d never be able to pay off my school loans.”

“How much do you owe?” He asked conversationally.

Well this just took a turn, Ruby thought as she readjusted her sweatshirt for the hundredth time.

“I try not to look at the exact number but roughly 200K”

Whistling Bishop pulled out his phone and started typing. “Then lets start negotiating”.

The wooden paneled door opened and to Ruby’s dismay Coco walked in with a scowl and a cigarette. Behind him a few other members that she had seen briefly followed. Trying not to show emotion, Ruby glanced at each one of them as a familiar pair of ringed hands pulled out the chair next to hers and handed her a water bottle.

“Thank you” Ruby whispered automatically. She unscrewed the bottle and drank at least half of it in one go. Stress made her thirsty.

“You earned it Doc” Angel nodded and scanned her over.

Strangely, Ruby didn’t squirm under his intense gaze, but felt a wash of normalcy set in. Negotiations, she could handle. Certainly it meant that murder was off the table. Ruby dug deep inside herself and straightened up. She could handle this.

“As you all know, the good Doctor over here saved Tranq’s life, before we continue does the table have anything to say?”

“You sure your not a Mexicana?” A man across from her with silky black shoulder length hair said. He seemed to be scrutinizing her quite intensely. “She could be a plant like Coco said”.

“That’s fucking bullshit” Angel shot back. “Coco man, you need to change weed dealers”

“Nah it could be true homie, the Feds been pulling out all the stops lately”.

Oh shit, they thought she was an informant? The men at the table began bickering back and forth. Ruby had to nip this in the bud before both her and Gracie ended up in unmarked graves across the border.

“May I defend myself?” She looked deferentially at Bishop. He motioned for her to continue.

“Unfortunately I am not Mexican, My parents are from Pakistan and India. But I understand why you would think that, I get told that I look like a lot of different ethnicities. I’m not a plant, an undercover agent or whatever else you think, I’m just a doctor. I moved here not too long ago from Georgia and have been having just a shitty time ever since. You can do whatever background check you wanna do, but I promise you I lead a boring life”.

“No one, who dresses like that leads a boring life chica” Ruby looked to see another member openly leering at her.

“Back off Gilly” Angel growled.

Bishop leaned back in his chair speculatively. The Doctor seemed too innocent to be a fed; either that or too stupid. She wasn’t trembling, crying or acting hysterical like other women facing the wrath of club members. Instead she seemed…defiant, almost confident. She knew her value as a doctor, and seeing her in action proved to him that Los Dios was sending him a gift.  
Organizing his thoughts and coming to a conclusion he cleared his throat. Instantly the room quieted.

“Angel, how much cash we got in the safe right now?”

Momentarily confused, Angel said, “Ballpark? I’d say 50 G’s”

“Give Dr. Ruby 10”

A chorus of what’s, hell no’s and are you serious erupted around the table. Even Ruby looked shocked.

“No Offense Bishop but paying for silence doesn’t really work” Riz leaned forward.

“It’s not for her silence, its for her employment. I’ve decided that we need a doctor on staff. Especially one who can be discreet.” Looking around at his boys, Bishop continued.

“We are entering the big leagues, hermanos. With los Olvidados and Galindo working together, the Mayans are moving into lucrative but dangerous territory. She saved Tranq’s life, does anyone dispute that?”

Silence ensued, Bishop knew he had enough votes to make this pass without consulting the table.

“So lets put it to a vote”

Angel pushed his chair back languidly and lightly grabbed Ruby’s arm. “Lets go beautiful”. He guided her to the doors and ignored her confused expression. As the door closed behind them he explained.

“Club’s voting on Bishops proposal, just sit tight”

“But isn’t he the president?”

“He’s the president chica, not the dictator. Even thugs like us follow a democracy”.

Frowning slightly, Ruby sat on the couch next to the sleeping Tranq and watched Angel saunter back inside.

“Ok, so Ruby has a 200k debt, which we can hold over her. My proposal is to make the monthly payments on her behalf in exchange for her being at our mercy…medically speaking.”

“Shit, for how long?” Coco asked.

“As long as we need her, we won’t pay it all off, just make sure to leave an amount large enough to keep her on retainer”.

“She saved Tranq, Coco” Angel hedged.

“Fuck I know, but we don’t know anything about her”

Bishop leaned forward, “This is where our resident Romeo comes in”. Looking towards Angel he continues, “You keep an eye on the good doctor, follow her for to make sure she’s legit. Do whatever it takes, it shouldn’t be hard”.

Gilly smiled, “Man fuck that, why can’t I be the one. I’ll be able to tell you what color nipples she has tomorrow”.

“Sorry Gilly, it has to be Angel, he already has her on lock”

The room erupted in laughter but Angel stayed quiet. “Is that what you want Bishop?”

“You don’t have to fuck her, but it would be a nice bonus” Bishop mused. “We need to make sure the club is protected at all costs”

Nodding, Angel rubbed his chin. Yes he was known as the club Romeo. He never had to chase pussy. It usually came to him quite easily, but fucking someone for the club? He never received an order like that. It made him feel uneasy and slightly dirty.

“Let’s vote”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry Guys! Life. I have been writing a lot just haven't had the time to publish. I will probably be posting a bunch of chapters in the next few days. I hope you like them! This chapter is a bit short, but I wanted to edit the rest.

CHAPTER 5

 

“And then they just let you go?”

“Yup! Ruby came back to the car looking and smelling like a wet rag and we went home.” Grace said simply as she held her teacup with both hands and took a dainty sip.

“It’s not a big deal Danny, it was a one and done situation” Ruby lied smoothly. She knew a big part of her deal with Bishop was discretion. His exact words were, “failure to comply would lead to the forfeiture of lives”.   
She desperately wanted to comb through the events of that night with her friends. Deeply valuing their insight, she knew they would emit no judgment or ridicule. Sadly, that was out of the question. A week had gone by and she’d been self-medicating on a mixture of junk food and Netflix. Soothing herself by thinking that it was all just a bad dream. But that was yet another lie. 

Did she make a mistake getting into bed with the devil?

“Yea, but still, we should’ve been there with you guys. Next time we all go out, no one is splitting up.” Danny decrees as he bites into the fluffiest set of pancakes ever made.

Red Bean Café was by far the best breakfast joint Ruby had ever stepped foot in. The homey atmosphere was enhanced by the soothing smell of carmelized sugar and sight of mismatched tableware. It was a place free of hipsters and tourists, which was a hard thing to find this close to the border.

The friends spent the rest of their meal chatting aimlessly about everything and nothing. Their conversation winding past the events of last weekend as if it were mere road kill on the side of the highway. Sure it was ugly and gruesome, but ultimately forgettable. Too bad no one realized, Ruby had put the poor carcass in her suitcase.

“…then Mrs. Patterson brought in her yorkie for the 10th time this month, swears her “poor little bella boo” has another intestinal parasite” 

Breaking free of her reverie, Ruby glances at Grace, “it’s probably from those nasty homemade dog biscuits she keeps shoving down that dogs throat”.

“ I think I went into the wrong profession, paperwork isn’t nearly as fun” Danny says as he gets up, “Want a refill Ruby?”

“Yes please, no cream” She responds, handing him her mug. 

Finally alone with Grace she pivots to face her, “You are okay right?”

Frowning slightly, Grace stares intently back at her friend, “I didn’t do anything but take a nap in your car, I’ve been wanting to ask you the same question but you’ve been so busy dealing with hospital drama I thought it’s best to leave it alone”

“Gracie, you are far more perceptive than I like in a friend” 

“Thanks, but are you ok? You never did tell me what happened.”

Ruby stares out the café window for a moment and looks back into the concerned eyes of her friend. “Truthfully I am a little shaken up but Dr. Lopez has been breathing down my neck so hard at the end of every shift I’m afraid I’ll find a hickey! He’s double checking my charts and spends most of the day answering emails on his phone while following me around”.

“Who’s following you areound?” Danny asks as he brings back two steaming mugs of coffee.

“Ahhhh” Ruby says as she takes in the aroma of her favorite blend, Sumatra.

“Dr. Lopez, he has decided that he is going to “retrain” me” Ruby says placing air quotes.

“What a bastard!”

“Agreed” Grace nods.

As the conversation moved into shitty bosses and jobs, Ruby relaxed into the comforting normalcy of her life. Sure her life wasn’t wrapped up neatly with a big red bow, but no one was that lucky. Laughing at Danny’s impression of a client, her purse started blairing the theme to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 

“Opps, that’s gotta be the hospital, I’m on call this week” Fishing it out of her unnecessarily giant purse, she exits the noisy café, heading to the sidewalk outdoors.

 

“This is Dr. Farhan.” She says crisply.

“Hey Doc, remember me?” a suave deep voice responds.

Instantly Ruby is shaken. No no no! This definitely wasn’t a dream. Shit! As her internal emotions battle to the death, externally she is able to maintain a calm façade. One of the perks of training in the ER. 

“Of course, is this Mr. Losa?” 

She heard a grunt of irritation before the man on the other line, responded, “No this ain’t Bishop, it’s Angel”

“Ah yes, Mr. Reyes, what can I do for you?” Please say nothing, please say nothing. She kept repeating internally.

“A situation has come up so, you probably want to box your chocolate chip waffles and tell your friends you gotta go”.

“Wait what? How do you…”

Angel interrupted her, “I’m parked towards your left, be in the passenger seat in 2 minutes”.

The phone clicked off and Ruby was left staring at her home screen. Had Angel been following her? How long had he been following her? Will it always be like this?

Beep! Beep!

Startled, Ruby looked to her left and sure enough saw a sleek black impala or classic caddy. Ruby didn’t really do cars. The driver had a tanned muscular arm with smattering of tattoes hanging out the window. Following the rippling veins cascading down his forearm, Ruby frowned as she noticed cigarette dangly from lightly greased fingers. Mechanic? Ruby pondered as she turned and headed back inside to lie to her most trusted friends.

Anxious and slightly bewildered, Ruby returned to her unsuspecting friends and informed them of a fictitious hospital emergency. Fishing in her purse to pay for her half eaten meal, Danny waived her away.

“I got it love, go on and handle your business”  
“I didn’t think you were on call this weekend” Gracie narrowed her bright blue eyes suspiciously.  
“Neither did I,” Ruby tried to interject an aura of dismissiveness in her tone. “I promise I will make it up to you guys” 

Smoothing out her dress, she gave her friends what she hoped was a genuine smile and turned to leave. 

“Don’t forget we’re hiking next weekend!” Danny called out to her as he began munching off her discarded plate. Some things never change, she thought to herself. Smiling for real this time, she thought about Danny and his amazing physique. It really was quite funny that he ate like he was auditioning for My 600lb Life.

It occurred to her as she made her way to Angel’s muscle car, that she was willfull getting into a car with a man she barely knew and going to a place she didn’t know. None of her loved ones knew who she was with or where she was going. If anything were to go south, she would effectively be on her own.   
The sun gleamed at her, happily unaware of the inner turmoil she was subjecting herself to. Rounding the corner, near the small town crosswalk, she saw Angel leaning against the door of his jet black car absently smoking a cigarette. He looked like he was posing for a picture. His muscular frame clad in well worn jeans that hugged his thighs, while a green and black plaid shirt with the cuffs rolled artfully over his biceps fitting his body like a glove. She noticed a group of women carting their newborns in matching strollers slow down and give him an appreciative once over. Angel didn’t seem to notice their giggling, too intent on turning to face Ruby’s approach. Ruby noticed, however, she noticed their immediate frowns upon seeing the black kutte with Mayans MC blazing in circular letters on the leather. They quickly sped up and entered the nearest generic candle store they could find. 

Lucky, Ruby thought, half wishing she could hide there as well, but knowing she had made her bed, and now it was time to lie in it. Arriving in front of Angel she wondered how long it took him to create this scruffy, bad boy persona of his as she took in his bearded face and scowl. Tossing his cigarette aside she was surprised to see herself scowling back in the reflection of his sunglasses.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I did;t get a chance to edit this chapter, I just wanted to keep my promise and update more regularly. If anything drastic is wrong let me know!

Wordlessly he opened the door and she slid into the buttery leather seat as though she had done it countless times. Jumping slightly at the loud slam of the door, Ruby took a few minutes to admire the sleek interior. She always liked the look and feel of classic cars and this one was no different. Analog buttons and a very simple trim. This was a car whose sole purpose was to drive powerful and fast, not to be a giant computer on wheels. To top it all off, the interior was surprisingly clean. She had misjudged Angel, he seemed to be a stickler for cleanliness. 

“We aren’t all nasty Doc” Angel saw her searching eyes, “some of us have standards”.

Realizing she had been thinking out loud, Ruby precariously smiled. 

“I can’t leave my car here, my friends will know I lied or will worry and call the cops.” She said as Angel started the car up with a roar.

“Gilly already took care of it, he’s driving it back to your place, I’ll drop you off after we’re done”.

“Driving my…” she said slowly, “but I have the keys. She fished them out of her purse to make sure.

“Gilly doesn’t need keys ever” Angel laughed as he merged smoothly onto the interstate.

Frowning, and worried that the whole MC knew where she lived, Ruby tried to settle back into her seat. While Angel was preoccupied with weaving in between traffic, she took the opportunity to peruse her handler. His forearms were corded in an attractive yet intimidating mix of muscle, veins and tattoos. Forearms were always her Achilles heel. He gripped the steering wheel with his right hand, the long tanned fingers draped in various silver rings. His left hand hung outside the window haphazardly. At first gland he was a handsome man, upon further perusal Ruby thought he was downright gorgeous. “Stop it!” she internally chastised herself. She needed to take Dany and Luke up on their blind date set up requests. Angel was too dangerous, not to mention out of her league. He was a biker after all, involved in a gang that fronted as a harmless motorcycle club. They hid their nefarious gang related activity behind the guise of a scrap yard. Sure he was hot, but she needed stability and responsibility, not just rugged good looks. She saw herself with a man who could challenge her intellectually, who would be gentle with her physically and open with her emotionally. 

Angel was definitely none of those things and she would do well to remember it. Christ, she needed to go have some fun with the seven soon, her libido was playing tricks on her. Angel was her handler and nothing more. Bishop said he was going to bring her to and from trauma sites and in exchange her student debt would no longer be her problem. 

She wasn’t an idiot though, she overheard Gilly and Coco complaining about “pretty boy” Angel always getting the “lady jobs”. While she certainly didn’t appreciate her 8+ years of medical training being dismissed so mysogynistically, she understood why Bishop chose him out of the rest of the MC. All her life she had been dismissed as “the friend”. She was never the girl people stared at or wanted to know, she could be invisible quite easily. Truthfully it felt good to have a group of men want to be around her, even if they were gave her the heebie jeebies. 

“Hate to be the person running through your mind with that nasty scowl on your face”.

“Huh, what” Ruby fluttered her hand over her face self consciously. Turning to Angel she regrouped, “I wasn’t scowling, I was thinking.”

“Well don’t hurt yourself Princessa” he smirked.

“Ha-Ha” Changing gears she asked, “What can you tell me about my patient, I can prepare myself on the way”. 

“Ain’t nothing to prepare, like I said relave, it’ll take another 45 minutes till we get there.”

Shocked, Ruby realized just how long and far they had already traveled. “45 minutes!” She panicked. The city was gone and all she saw was desert. “Idiot!” she thought to herself. It was habit for Ruby as a passenger not to pay attention and just enjoy the ride. Her dad would be furious. He always got upset with her for not paying attention to her surroundings and perpetually daydreaming. The car was her favorite place to do both.

“It’s not so bad chica, gives us time to bond and what-not”. He turned to her and smiled.

Forcing herself not to fall into his charm trap, Ruby rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. She should have left an emergency tshirt and jeans in her car to use when the MC pulled her while she was out. Making a mental note to prepare better she smoothed her sundress onto her thighs and prayed it wouldn’t get too bloody. 

Her panic shifted to anger as she said, “Ok, so you won’t tell me where I’m going or what I’m going to do, but sure tell me your favorite color!”

“White”.

Taken aback, Ruby gave Angel a strange look, “White? What are you my mother?” She didn’t know anyone except her pristine, overly sophisticate mother who loved basic white.

“Definitely not you mom coneja”, Angel’s sunglasses encased eyes turned to nod at her slightly before returning to the road.

“Rabbit?” Ruby pivoted her upper body towards her tattooed driver. A brown suntanned hand with a sprinkling of hair landed on her furiously bouncing leg. Pressing down slightly, he stopped her nervous movement. She hadn’t even realized she was doing it.

“Cause you have shifty eyes on that beautiful face that seem to watch everything, you always bounce your right leg when your nervous. Not to mention you constantly look like youre about to bolt. Makes me feel predatory Doc”. Angel spoke so much truth and focused on so many aspects of her in such little time that it made Ruby feel almost transparent. Not to mention the cavalier compliment he spit out threw her for a loop. Apparently he had been watching her too. Her eyes shifted from Angel’s profile to his hand on her thigh. It’s weight producing both comfort and anxiety. He seemed content to leave it resting much to her chagrin. She was desperately trying not to squirm or show any outward signs of weakness. Suffice it to say she was failing miserably.

“Don’t pretend like you know me” she huffed as she picked up his hand and unceremoniously dropped it back in his lap. To protect herself further she crossed her legs and arms over herself as tightly as she could. 

Laughing, Angel grabbed her left hand easily out of its position and said “I know enough Doc,” shaking her own hand back at her he continued. “These hands? They were ice cold with precision when you were sewing up Tranq. I mean Jesus! Here you were looking like some gringa club bunny and as soon as you saw him dying on the couch your entire personality shifted. You went from being scared shitless to barking orders at a bunch of bikers that most people cross the street to avoid”.

“Suturing”.

“What?”

“It’s not sewing, its suturing”.

“Madre Mia you are gonna be a pain in my ass.” Shifting gears he looked at her frowning face and continued before she could voice her displeasure. “Anyways, what’s yours?”

“Uh my what?” She looked at him with confusion, her body automatically relaxing itself. 

“Favorite color Princessa”. Angel took a forlorn exit off the deserted highway onto an even emptier state road. They began passing burned Joshua trees and the occasional shack that passed as someone’s house. 

“Yellow” she replied, laying her head against the window and briefly shutting her eyes. A myriad of thoughts began assaulting her. This happened so often in her life she mentally began coaching herself through it. Worries she formerly though extinguished were merely dormant. Waiting for an emerging burst of stress to awaken them. She’d made a deal with the devil, would this come back to bite her in the ass? Yes, probably. What the hell was she thinking! Sure her debt would be erased and she would be free to practice anywhere in the US without worry, but was it worth risking her licsence and almost a decade of hard work? What if she got hurt or even killed at one of these MC sites? Ethically was it beneficial to society to save the lives of men that would most likely go on to kill others? Shit! What if she couldn’t save a members life? Would they slit her throat and throw her body in the desert? After all, she met them in the middle of a gang related shoot out. She had yet to process that trauma, including the kidnapping. Gracie had been the responsible one. Almost immediately going to extra therapy appointments and dealing with the trauma head on. She’d even given Ruby her therapist’s number. Ruby was just too busy and too stressed to make the call. Dr. Lopez had been watching her like a hawk, not to mention all the nurses she was convinced were his little spies. She was constantly on call and working 48 hour rotations. The hospital had recently fired an intern for failing to document something on a patients chart. The residents were scared and put on notice, and no one moreso than her. She was just too exhausted to be traumatized. 

Yawning deeply, Ruby covered her mouth delicately and turned her attention back towards Angel. Determined to chase away her dangerous thoughts she decided to play along with his “getting to know you” game. He seemed relaxed in his seat but the tightly corded veins wrapped around his arms begged to differ. He was unashamedly masculine and had a complete disregard for propriety, but still showed telltale signs of stress trauma himself. 

“Do I make him nervous too?” Ruby thought incredulously. Or was he just worried about what was yet to come.

Sighing deeply, he rolled up the windows when the dust began kicking up. Suddenly encased in silence he asked, “Why yellow?”

“Because no one ever seems to like it”

“You feel bad for a color?”

Laughing a bit she reasoned, “ I don’t understand the aversion to it. It’s bright, sunny, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s one of the colors for the best football team in the world”.

“The Raiders are black and silver”.

“Ugh no! Green Bay Packers man! Green and Gold all the way. They won the first and second superbowl, the trophy is named after their coach AND” she emphasized, “ they have had the 2 best QB’s in the world back to back”.

“Damn I cannot picture you a football fan” Angel barked a laugh and looked a bit impressed Ruby thought.

“I don’t look like one?” she said innocently.

Taking in her wedge heels and brightly colored short sleeve summer dress, he shook his head. “this is Raiders country Doc.

Laughing genuinely, the tension completely evaporated from her body. This was familiar territory, she could talk sports to anyone and everyone for hours at a time. Deciding to school him on his uninformed football choice, Ruby launched into the history and traditions of her favorite pastime.


End file.
